Raspberry Chocolate Cake

This was inspired by this Raspberry Chocolate Cake over at Ambrosia Baking. However, I really do like my chocolate cake and frosting recipe, so I thought I would adapt them and add a delicious raspberry filling.

Raspberry filling

1 cup raspberry jam (about an entire small jar)
1 cup fresh raspberries
lemon or lime juice

This filling is a total cheat.

Mix the jam and fresh raspberries together with a fork. Add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice and stir. Taste and check for consistency. Cover and chill. This can be made two days in advance.*

Chocolate Cake

1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken**
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

1 cup coffee, fresh and hot

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 if using dark pans). Butter two 9-inch cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the parchment and sides of the pan, sprinkling with cocoa powder or flour to ensure easy removal.

Sift together dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla, whisking to combine. With the mixer running on low speed, gradually pour in the wet ingredients into the dry goods. Scrape down the bowl. With the mixer continuing on low speed, pour in the hot coffee. Scrape and mix until combined and homogenous (the batter will be a bit thin).

Divide between the prepared pans and bake in the preheated oven for 27-32 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 30 minutes and then turn out to cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting

6 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup cocoa
2 - 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Cream the butter until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes on medium high speed. Mix in the vanilla until incorporated.

With the mixer running on low, slowly pour in the melted chocolate. Once incorporated, add the cocoa and half of the confectioner's sugar. Cream until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add in the remaining confectioner's sugar based on your personal taste. Frost cake.

Assembly

Cut cake layers in half with a serrated knife. Place one layer on a cake board that is on a cake turner. Spread about 1/2 of the raspberry filling over the layer. Top with the second layer and spread about 1/2 cup frosting over. Top with another layer, spreading with the raspberry filling. At this point, I cover the cake and chill briefly.

Frost cake with remaining frosting. I whipped some cream and used some remaining raspberries, inspired by the Ambrosia Baking decoration.

*If you're concerned the filling is too thin, remove about half a cup and place into a microwave-safe bowl. Whisk in about 1 tbsp of sugar and 1 tbsp cornstarch. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and microwave again until the mixture is bubbly and noticeably thicker. This will ensure the cornstarch activates. Once thickened, whisk into the rest of the filling. Cover and chill to completely set.

**I have this fondness for dry buttermilk powder. In place of the buttermilk, I mix in 4 tbsp of the dry buttermilk powder into the dry ingredients. For the liquid, you can use just about anything, but for this cake, I actually prefer 1 cup coffee, room temperature. The extra cup really provides a bold coffee flavor.

Beer Cupcakes

When I came across this recipe over at The Seaside Baker, I knew I had to try them! I have made beer cookies before, cooking down the beer to a rich, flavorful syrup. However, I had never considered using beer in cupcakes. These were delightful, and I will definitely be making them again!

Beer Cupcakes
yield: about 20 cupcakes

1 cup butter, melted
1 1/3 cups sugar

2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup craft beer, I used Tap Room Number 21's Amber Ale

3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 (or 325 if using dark pans) and line two cupcake tins with 20 liners. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until a homogenous, wet, sandy mixture forms, about 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Add the eggs, beating to combine, followed by the vanilla. With the mixer running on low speed, add the beer and mix until homogenous (at this stage, the batter is quite thin).

With the mixer continuing on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Avoid over-mixing. I found the batter thickened nicely, even after I had stopped mixing. Divide the batter between the liners, filling each liner about 2/3 full. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15-18 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting
yield: enough to frost about 20 cupcakes

3/4 cup butter, softened
8oz cream cheese, softened

3 1/2 - 4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp cream

Cream the butter and cream cheese until combined. Add in one cup of the powdered sugar and mix to combine. Add in the vanilla, followed by another cup of the powdered sugar. Alternate remaining powdered sugar and cream until the desired consistency and sweetness is reached (I prefer a less-sweet frosting, so I wound up using about 3 1/2 cups of the sugar). Beat on high for 3-5 minutes. THe frosting will be light, airy, and will pipe beautifully. Frost the cupcakes.

Garnishes

1 cup crushed pretzels
1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts
melted chocolate

Top each cupcake with pretzels, peanuts, and melted chocolate as you see fit.